TWC Winter Storm Names for 2013-2014 Season

Last winter season, The Weather Channel initiated the idea of naming winter storms. With last season’s success, The Weather Channel will be naming winter storms again this year, as long they meet certain requirements.

For a winter storm to make this exclusive list, it must meet one of four criteria. It may have some sort of National Weather Service Winter Storm Warning attached to it, or it may be a historic, unusual, or memorable storm. Population of the affected area, location, and time frame of storm are also factors in determining whether the storm will be named. For instance, if it snowed 2” in Florida, that might increase the chances of that storm being named. Although, here at Sunday River, a winter storm might have to dump inches and inches of POW to even be considered! All of this is laid before a committee, which then decides whether the storm deserves a name.

There are many benefits of naming these dangerous winter storms. Communication is key during emergency weather situations, and naming storms only helps to reduce the public’s confusion. Identifying these complex storms with simple and memorable names has helped keep people safe and informed during these crucial times. Social media has also been a place where these storm names have been exposed. Social media sites, schools, and other agencies have had over a billion impressions thanks to tagging TWC storm names.

Last year, the highlight of the Winter Storm naming season was Winter Storm Nemo. Nemo produced extreme snowfall totals that exceeded 5 inches per hour. By the end of it, Nemo dumped over 30 inches across the East Coast, leaving nearly 500,000 customers without power.

Here is the official list of Winter Storm names provided by The Weather Channel:

*A Latin class at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana, created this list as a class assignment.